


Xerox

by water_lili_es



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Ambiguous/Open Ending, First Dates, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, M/M, Strangers to Lovers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-03-07 16:14:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,796
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26810476
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/water_lili_es/pseuds/water_lili_es
Summary: “Do any of you need anything copied? I’m heading to the xerox place downstairs.”“No, we don’t.” Seungmin said as he shut the fridge, a bottle of grape juice in hand.Changbin blinked, still adamant on finding an excuse to go to the xerox place because it was half an hour until Felix’s shift ended. “Just give me something I can make two of and I’m good to go.”Jeongin throws the remote aside and turns to Changbin, brows furrowed in a judgmental confusion. “Then why go there at all?”Changbin cleared his throat in defiance of providing an answer as well as slight embarrassment as he looks away from Seungmin and Jeongin, the other two still not giving him the time of day. That was until Hyunjin smirks at Changbin. “Are you going to check out the cute part-timer there?”Jisung’s brow twitched at the statement but Changbin paid it no mind as he cleared his throat again, this time in preparation for an answer. “Maybe. Wanna come?”
Relationships: Lee Felix/Seo Changbin
Comments: 4
Kudos: 57





	Xerox

Changbin doesn’t know what it was, but something about the part-timer in the university’s print shop intrigued him. He was drawn in the moment he laid his eyes on the perky blond that was bobbing his head to the music playing from his earphones, blissfully ignorant of the stir he created within Changbin.

It started a month ago, when his professor asked him to go to the university’s print shop to make copies of a handout. The professor was old school like that, giving out paper study material instead of sending students the lecture electronically. Changbin was never fond of it (nor did he dislike it, he was simply indifferent to it), but he was thankful to be the one his professor decided was fit to do his bidding because the university student that was working the copier practically took his breath away on the spot.

He had his earphones plugged in, moving his head to the song playing he scanned and copied a sizeable stack of papers. He was pre-occupied with his task, so Changbin wasn’t surprised when the other part-timer was the one to attend to him instead.

“Hi, you need something printed?” the boy smiled politely. Changbin recognized him as an acquaintance of Jisung’s, and if he remembered correctly, the boy’s name was Minho.

Reluctantly, if Changbin was being completely dramatic, he tore his eyes away from the blond beauty and to Minho. He lifted the handouts his professor needed copied. “No, I need 20 copies of each of these.”

There were three sets of handouts and Changbin did not have the willpower nor the mental capability to do the math in his head.

“Changbin, right?” Minho asked to which Changbin nodded, confirming that he was, in fact, an acquaintance of Jisung’s. Minho gestured to the other boy in the shop. “Felix is still working the copier, so you have to wait a while.”

Felix. What a nice name. He wondered how easily it would roll off his tongue when simply hearing the name was music to his ears.

“No, I’m almost done. Hand me what needs to be copied.” Changbin is pulled out of his reverie when Felix is speaks in a voice deeper than he expected the boy to possess, but none the less enchanting. Felix lifted his head from his stack of newly copied papers to meet Changbin’s eyes, smiling kindly at him as he tugged his earphones out of his ears.

“Okay.” dumbly, in his dazed state, he nodded, the papers slipping from his fingers as Minho took them and passed them to Felix.

He missed the amused look Minho shot him. He was too preoccupied with counting the seconds that he and Felix are holding each other’s stare— still are, until Felix turns to Minho to take the handouts needed to be copied.

“How’s Jisung, by the way?” since he had nothing else to do, Minho took it upon himself to make conversation with Changbin, going back to the counter so that he was closer to him.

“He’s doing well. Still Jisung.” Changbin easily replied and just like that, Changbin directed his attention away from Felix, completely missing the short, subtle, and barely handful of glances that the blond college student stole.

* * *

Changbin barged inside the dorm apartment, not knocking because he lived with Chan and Jisung, though he was sure that the people loitering inside the apartment were not limited to the boys he lived with.

He sees Hyunjin and Jisung seated by the dining table, on their phones, with Seungmin raiding the fridge next to them, and Jeongin in the living room sofa flipping through channels on the television. He figured that Chan was locked away in his room, asleep.

He gave the four boys a determined look. “Do any of you need anything copied? I’m heading to the xerox place downstairs.”

It wasn’t downstairs. It was a building away but a five minute walk wouldn’t deter Changbin from his crush, not when Minho texted him Felix’s shift schedule (which turned out to be Minho’s as well) a week after Changbin had first set eyes on Felix. He’s been in and out of the xerox place for a month now, trying to get a glimpse of starred freckles and box-dyed hair.

“No, we don’t.” Seungmin said as he shut the fridge, a bottle of grape juice in hand.

Changbin blinked, still adamant on finding an excuse to go to the xerox place because it was half an hour until Felix’s shift ended. “Just give me something I can make two of and I’m good to go.”

Jeongin throws the remote aside and turns to Changbin, brows furrowed in a judgmental confusion. “Then why go there at all?”

Changbin cleared his throat in defiance of providing an answer as well as slight embarrassment as he looks away from Seungmin and Jeongin, the other two still not giving him the time of day. That was until Hyunjin smirks at Changbin. “Are you going to check out the cute part-timer there?”

Jisung’s brow twitched at the statement but Changbin paid it no mind as he cleared his throat again, this time in preparation for an answer. “Maybe. Wanna come?”

Hyunjin takes a contemplative breath before he jumps to his feet and shrugs coyly. “Sure. Anyone else?”

“No, thanks.” Jeongin said as he held out a book he found under the coffee table, which Hyunjin took in passing.

“Me, neither.” Seungmin replied as he sat next to Jeongin, now in possession of the remote.

“Jisung, you?” Hyunjin asked and Changbin finally takes note of the borderline accusing and betrayed look that Jisung has been giving him since the mention of the xerox place’s part-timer.

Jisung huffed as he stood and pocketed his phone. He pointed a finger at Changbin. “I’m keeping an eye on you, mister.”

The threat left the other four speechless as Jisung sauntered out of the apartment, passing by Changbin and Hyunjin who were stood by the door. Hyunjin shrugged at Changbin’s nonplussed expression before the two of them followed after Jisung.

As they walk, Jisung doesn’t spare Changbin from his offended glances, which only feed to the older’s confusion as to why Jisung was annoyed at him instead of Hyunjin, since the two were like bickering kids than fully-functional adults when together. Hyunjin seems just as perplexed but made no move to question Jisung’s annoyance, having been a regular recipient of Jisung’s barely frightening (but still slightly menacing) looks.

Changbin let it go. Jisung wasn’t a stranger to mood swing and Changbin wasn’t a stranger to handling them with blissful ignorance; and if he was being honest, Changbin didn’t care enough at the moment to find out why Jisung was annoyed at him. All he cared about was getting his bi-weekly dose of Lee Felix (his family name was provided by Minho alongside the schedule).

“Right on time.” Minho didn’t even bother to look up from his phone when the door opened; still immersed in the web drama he was watching.

Changbin scoffed at the boy’s smirk, ready to retort if not for a pouting Jisung pushing past him and Hyunjin and going straight to the counter where Minho was leaned over. Minho still hadn’t looked up from his phone, so the presence of anyone aside from Changbin’s was unbeknownst to him.

“Minho.” Jisung huffed, bordering on a whine.

The smirk on Minho’s face is instantly replaced by a beaming smile as he sets his phone aside and lifts his head to the boy in front of him. “Hello, Jisung. Did you come to see me or did you get dragged here by your friends?”

“I’m here to keep an eye on Changbin.” Jisung stated matter-of-factly, to which Minho chuckled at.

“You’re sensing the vibe, too, right?” Hyunjin whispered to Changbin.

Changbin nodded as he answered under his breath. “Good to know it wasn’t just me.”

Hyunjin, having already familiarized himself with Changbin’s xerox place routine, — not more than Chan, who actually _had_ things he needed to copy, and was more than accepting of Changbin’s company during Tuesdays and Wednesdays between 1pm and 3pm, so the older fell into the routine as well after two weeks— tossed the novel Jeongin gave him to the surface between Minho and Jisung.

“Is half the book too much or can we turn it up from prologue to epilogue?” Hyunjin casually asked, to which Minho snorted. He took the book in his hands and thumbed at the corner, running the pad of his finger over the pages.

He snickered before throwing a hardly subtle and hardly unamused wink Changbin’s way, which called on the return of Jisung’s menacing glare at Changbin. It lasted for a second, because then he’s back to a smiling expression after Minho playfully swiped his finger under Jisung’s chin as he raised his voice. “Felix, annoying-customer-who-has-a-crush-on-you is here!”

Now, Changbin wasn’t subtle to begin with, but all chances of Felix being none the wiser to Changbin’s fixation on him have been thrown out the window three weeks ago, when Minho appropriately dubbed him as ‘the annoying customer that was crushing on Felix’.

“Oh.” Jisung intoned at the same time he visibly deflated. It looked as if the steaming frustration and irritation he had earlier decided to leave. He turned to Changbin and Hyunjin, donning an expression as confused as the ones he got during the walk to the print shop.

And that’s when Changbin and Hyunjin understood. Jisung, in his own right, thought that Changbin wanted to see Minho, and acted on childish jealousy.

Because Felix and Minho both worked at the print shop; because they both had the exact same schedule for shifts. And Jisung hadn’t met Felix, and instantly assumed that Changbin had set his eyes on Minho.

To Jisung, ‘cute part-timer working at the print shop’ meant Lee Minho.

Oh.

Jisung likes Minho. That’s news.

Hyunjin is the only one who had the time to snicker about it, though, because Changbin’s undivided attention was nailed to the blond college student that emerged from the storage area behind Minho, where he’d been hanging out and listening to music as he read over his notes.

He smiled at the three boys before going to stand next to co-worker, eyes on Changbin despite speaking to Minho. “What’s it today?”

Maybe he was talking to Changbin as well, knowing full-well that Changbin was the customer, but Minho has taken it upon himself to speak for Changbin whenever he was in the print shop.

“How many pages can you stomache before you tap out?” Minho jested as he waved the book between Felix and himself.

Felix eyed the novel, humming in thought before clicking his tongue. It was a little over an inch thick, nothing too overwhelming, but it was tedious work nonetheless. “I only have twenty minutes left of my shift.”

Minho coyly shrugged. “Then you have twenty minutes to spend copying.”

Felix rolled his eyes at Minho before turning to Changbin with a subtle leer. “Book report?”

“For a friend.” Changbin answered quickly. He added, “He doesn’t like writing on the pages, so...”

“Ah.” Felix nodded. His smiled broadened as he threw Changbin a quick wink before making his way to the xerox machine. “I’ll make quick work of it, then. I don’t like staying overtime.”

Changbin pursed his lips when Felix winked at him. Throughout his visits, Felix had taken it upon himself to play a sort of push-and-pull with Changbin. What his intentions were, Changbin was unsure, but to say that he didn’t like the small bouts of attention he was receiving from the younger would be a lie.

Maybe it was payback for making him do extra work. Felix has been copying random pages for Changbin for a month now, maybe Felix decided to send Changbin into an internal frenzy as he did his work.

Hyunjin snorted as he bumped his shoulder against Changbin’s. He winked at the shorter when he turned to him, earning a scowl in response, but Hyunjin only laughed.

“Does he...?” Jisung asked Minho in a whisper. He was still slightly embarrassed by his earlier internal accusations and seeing the exchange between Changbin and Felix merely added to his befuddlement.

Minho chortled at the question and winked at Jisung, the younger of the two blushed a faint red despite the action being nothing more than a confirmation to some joke everyone else was in on. It was the principle of it; the fact that Minho winked at him, context be gone.

“Are you going to ask him out or what?” Hyunjin asked once Felix had started his— completely useless and even more unnecessary— task. The blond boy had whipped out his phone and earphones, playing music as loud as his ears could handle.

It was always like this. It was Felix’s way of detaching himself from the room so that he wouldn’t be able to hear the conversation; because he knows that, more often than not, the conversation will be about him.

Changbin doesn’t know if he’s grateful for it or not. With the visage that Felix was unable to hear Minho teasing Changbin,— and if Changbin comes with anyone, then his companion wouldn’t simply stand by and watch— he doesn’t shy away from tantalizing Changbin. At. All.

He hummed to the music, blissfully oblivious to the arguments on the other side of the counter, which Minho was amusedly watching.

“Ask him out? What, no! I can’t.” Changbin blustered as he looked at Hyunjin with wide-eyed exasperation. “Are you crazy? I can’t do that.”

“Why not?" Jisung asked with a tilt of his head. His elbows were propped up on the counter behind him, Minho leaning forward on the counter so that their shoulders met in the middle. “You obviously like him. I don’t think he’ll turn you down, either.”

Yes, Felix seems like the kind of person that will go out with the annoying customer that comes in like clockwork during his shifts and asks him to xerox random pieces of paper he found lying around in his things so that he has an excuse to come to the print shop in the first place.

“That’s what I keep telling him!” Minho said as he pulled a faux-annoyed frown. “He won’t believe me, though.”

“That’s because you’re untrustworthy.” Changbin replied with narrowed eyes.

“Then don’t trust _me_.” Minho snickered, not the least bit offended by Changbin’s mostly good-natured barb. “Those sneaky glances he gives you should be motivation enough.”

The three boys across the counter look to Felix, and as if on cue, the said boy looks up, locks eyes with Changbin, and with a quirk of his lips, winks at him again, before turning back to the xerox machine. Minho snickers at the sight of Changbin’s flustered expression, not needing to turn around to know that Felix had unknowingly— maybe knowingly, Minho wouldn’t put it past Felix— proven his point. Hyunjin and Jisung also snickered as they took in their usually composed friend fall apart.

“See?” Minho stressed. Changbin was sure that if his hair reached past his shoulders, he’d be twirling strands of it between his fingers.

The print shop is silent save for the xerox machine for several seconds. Felix glanced at Changbin again, but this time only Hyunjin caught sight of it. The boy smirked and tilted his head towards his friend.

“Hey, would you hate me if I did something crazy?” he asked, his tone almost like one of a song’s. The pitch he used suggested that it didn’t matter what Changbin said because he has already decided on doing whatever it is he wanted to do, no matter how crazy it may be.

But still, Changbin glared at Hyunjin, more begging than intimidating Hyunjin not to go through with whatever idea popped up in his head. “Don’t you even dare.”

Hyunjin’s smirk broadened and he winked at Jisung and Minho before tipping his chin towards the counter the two were leaning on. “That won’t give out if I jump over it, would it?”

Minho pushed himself off the counter and shrugged, Jisung doing the same a second after. “Why don’t we see?”

That was all the permission Hyunjin needed, so he approached the counter and pressed his palms to the surface. He quickly jumped and lifted himself up, swung his body from one side of the counter to the other in a swift and graceful motion.

Changbin, Jisung, and Minho can only observe Hyunjin with confusion as he threw his fringe to the side with exaggerated flare.

Changbin’s confusion did not last long, however, because the agitated dread gradually sank in as Hyunjin sauntered over to the xerox machine, placing himself in front of it and blocking Felix’s view of the three other boys.

Hyunjin chuckled and lifted the book from where it was being scanned, shutting it close as he made eye contact with a puzzled Felix.

“Hello...?” Felix intoned as he tugged his earphones out of his ears. “Can I help you?”

Hyunjin smiled with all eyes on him in various states of confused and expecting. He casually rolled on the heels of his feet as he spoke. “Not really me, actually, but my friend over there. Are you interested?’

At the question, Felix tilts his head to look behind Hyunjin and at Changbin, lips quirking in amusement as if he and Hyunjin have planned this exact scenario to play out. Felix’s eyes were unreadable to Changbin through his own mess of emotions.

Felix schooled a reaction between a snicker and a smile. “That depends. Is _he_?”

They all heard more than what was said. _‘Is he interested in me, too?’ ‘Is he finally going to make a move?’ ‘Is he seriously making someone else ask me out for him?’_

“ _Is_ he?” Hyunjin echoed with a dramatic glance at Changbin. He stepped to the side so that Felix could look at Changbin without straining himself, which the blond was mentally grateful for as he straightened into a more comfortable posture. Changbin narrowed his eyes at Hyunjin, without thought and automatically. Hyunjin snickered and turned back to Felix. “Why don’t you ask him?”

Felix hummed in a feigned state of thought. He pressed his elbows on the machine, turning it off in the process. He shifted his weight so that he was leaning forward, chin on a propped palm. He clicked his tongue, almost in disappointment. “I _would_ , but, you see, I’ve already spent a month waiting for him to ask me out. It would be such a waste if I folded now.”

Changbin’s breathing stilled at the sight of Felix’s over-the-top pout. His eyes were to an amused Hyunjin, yet his words were to a stunned Changbin. Felix only looked at Changbin when he finished speaking and pouted. The statement was loud and clear and Changbin would be a grade-A idiot not to understand when he was being spoon-fed on what to do.

The tall boy drew in a large, full breath before exhaling loudly. It was supposed to be a sigh of defeat; but it clearly wasn’t.

“Oh, well.” Hyunjin drawled, book still in hand, and turned to go back to the side of the counter where his friends were. He tried not to smirk, but the corner of his lips twitched when he saw Changbin. “At least now Changbin knows that the ball is in his court.”

Hyunjin jumps over the counter again. Smiling broadly as he smacked Changbin’s back, almost painfully. “Right, Changbin?”

Felix giggled before Changbin could find it in himself to reply, the sound taunting Changbin to ask him out like he has clearly stated his wanted him to. There wasn’t a threat of rejection anymore, unless Felix wasn’t serious, but Changbin was almost certain that Felix wasn’t playing as much as he seemed.

“Uhhh...” Changbin started, suddenly aware that aside from Hyunjin, there were two other people in the room, acting as if they were watching a cheesy romantic-comedy.

Well, if they wanted a cheesy romantic-comedy, then they’re going to get exactly that.

“How about coffee, then?” Changbin asked with a blend of confidence and uncertainty that made Felix titter. “I can wait until your shift is over.”

Felix raised his elbows from the machine and he glanced at his watch. He smiled brightly. “Coffee sounds swell. I’ll go get my stuff. I’ll meet you outside?”

“I’ll wait for you here.” Changbin answered, without thinking.

Felix disappears into the storage room after that, shoulders shaking in a seemingly uncontrollable fit of giggles.

It takes Changbin a second to realize that Felix’s and Minho’s shifts have ended. Was Hyunjin’s skit really that long? It felt like two minutes instead of nearly ten.

Hyunjin slaps him on the back again. “There you go! Finally!”

Changbin’s smile is all sorts of relieved and disbelieving and ecstatic as he replays the events of the last several minutes. Hyunjin was crazy, but he was a crazy genius. He’d worry about how well Hyunjin and Felix jumped on each other’s jokes later, when it doesn’t work to his benefit. It won’t take long before they end up using it against him, anyway, so he’ll worry about it then.

Minho smiled, laughing. “Congratulations, Changbin. Took you long enough.”

“Oh, come on,” Hyunjin brushed his fringe away again, like how he did earlier. “we all know I’m to thank for this.”

Felix emerged from the storage room, a small bag slung over his shoulder. He goes straight for the side of the counter and sidles the end of it. He doesn’t bother to spare Minho a glance as he speaks, “Minho, you can wait for the next part-timers, right? I have plans.”

Felix’s hand closes in on Changbin’s forearm as he smiles brightly at the older, once again knocking the breath out of Changbin.

Minho waves his hand in easy dismissal. “Go, go. Enjoy your date.”

Felix laughed, light and cheerful. “We will.”

“Let’s go?” Changbin asked with a tilt of his head in the door’s direction.

Felix nodded with another giggle, the two of them turning to leave the others inside the print shop. Changbin, in a bout of chivalry he didn’t know he possessed, opened the door for Felix, the blond smiling appreciatively at him before he passed through; he didn’t let go of Changbin’s arm, though.

“Are you staying here or waiting with Minho?” Hyunjin asked Jisung, book tucked under his arm.

Jisung looked at Minho in silent question and the older swiped his finger under Jisung’s chin again. Jisung leaned into the second-long touch, almost purring.

“I’ll take that as an answer, then.” Hyunjin laughed. He used a finger to salute to Minho before he exited the xerox place, going in the opposite direction Changbin and Felix went, deciding to re-join Seungmin and Jeongin in Chan, Changbin, and Jisung’s dorm apartment.

“So, do you have anywhere in mind?” Felix asked, arm now secure around Changbin’s as they walked under the late afternoon sun. There weren’t a lot of cafes in and around campus so if Changbin wanted to go a little farther then there was no problem at all.

“There might.” Changbin answered in hardly maintained secrecy. Felix laughed softly at the, knowing how Changbin isn’t as kept together as he’s trying to appear to be. He’s seen the older bluster whenever they lock eyes and Felix is feeling particularly flirty and bold enough to either send a flying kiss or a wink to him. It was cute, Felix thinks, and he liked that Changbin had that side to him.

Felix smiled and stepped closer to Changbin to playfully bump shoulders with him. As he half-expected, Changbin flushed, and Felix laughed again.

“You know,” Felix mooned as they walked, letting Changbin lead him across campus. “I thought I was going to wait maybe another two months before you ask me out.”

Changbin coughed, earning another giggle from the taller. His other hand clasped around Changbin’s upper arm. With their arms still linked, Felix was now half-clinging onto him. “I wouldn’t mind waiting, though. You’re pretty cute when Minho is teasing you.”

Minho also teased Felix often, before and after Changbin’s appearance in the print shop. Felix didn’t mind it, maybe reveled in the way his co-worker and friend kept pushing them to ask each other out. If Felix was being honest, he thought he’d be the one to ask Changbin out, along the lines of ‘look, we’ve been checking each other out for weeks now, would you want to go on a date with me or not?’. Granted, what happened earlier wasn’t completely different.

Changbin narrowed his eyes at the mention of the older boy. “I hope it takes Jisung a year to realize he likes Minho.”

Jisung wasn’t the type to harbour feelings and not act on them. Changbin has seen Jisung develop a crush and confess to said crush all within a week. It wasn’t that Jisung was impulsive— well, he _was_ , but that’s not the point— but it was more of because he didn’t see the point of wondering if the person liked him back if he could tell the person how he felt and then let the person decide if they wanted to give him a chance or not. The only problem was that Jisung was infuriatingly dense. All his friends would know about his crushes before he realized them himself, which, in Jeongin’s words, meant all the pining and gushing and all that typical ‘do they love me, do they love me not?’ things happen during Jisung’s dense phase.

Felix dramatically gasped at the light-hearted joke whilst he slapped Changbin’s shoulder, re-attaching his hand on his arm right after. “Now, now, that’s not nice. From what I’ve seen today, they’re kind of cute.”

Changbin fakes a gag, and then raises an eyebrow. “Is everything some level of cute to you?”

Ironically enough, Changbin found Felix _cute_ , as well as how the younger thought of everything with that adjective. It was endearing when Felix would gush about nothing and everything with the brightest smile on his face.

Felix hummed, eyes crinkling as he grinned. “Maybe. But _you_ , are _pretty_ cute.”

Changbin doesn’t know why he and Felix are already this comfortable from each other but he’s far from complaining. The boy was easy to talk to and Changbin _knew_ he could spend hours upon hours listening to the lull of Felix’s deep voice.

They reach one of the three coffee houses in campus. It was one Felix frequented with his own friends, but not as much as the one on the other side of the campus (Felix was obsessed with their white chocolate cake and oatmeal cookies).

“We’re here.” Changbin opens the door for Felix again, at the back of mind questioning himself on since when he’s been such a gentleman. Felix seems to like it, though, so Changbin was mostly grateful that he had a chivalrous bone somewhere in his body.

“Do you want to order with me or sit down?” Changbin asked the boy, who hummed in thought. When Felix unlinked their arms, Changbin thought that he wanted to wait at a table, which was why he was once again stunned when Felix’s fingers slipped between his.

“I want to stay with you.” Felix said in a tone that was a little more childlike compared to his usual voice.

Changbin breathed out an astonished laugh whilst he let Felix lead him to the counter. He couldn’t get rid of the image of the ghost of a pout that Felix jut out when he spoke. How was he already _this_ emotionally invested?

After they’ve ordered and gotten their tray (which Felix insisted he carry because he got an iced Americano and a slice of peach chiffon whilst Changbin only got a cold brew), they settled on a small table for two, not by the window but a few feet away from those tables.

“So, tell me about yourself.” Felix started as he poked the sides of his cake with a fork. “All I know about you is that you’re Changbin, the annoying customer that has a crush on me.”

“I wouldn’t say _crush_.” Changbin tried to defend himself, going silent when Felix pouted, his fingers carefully setting the fork down.

“So you don’t have a crush on me?” Felix asked in a way that Changbin instantly knew he was teasing. His pout morphed into a boyish smile before he continued. “That’s okay, I’ll just make you develop a crush on me, then.” Felix spoke with resolve and a touch of jest, eyes crinkling as he smiled at Changbin. “I hope it won’t be too hard.”

Changbin shook his head as he continued to look at Felix with as much awe as he knew he looked at him with from the first moment he saw Felix at the copy place a month ago. He breathed out, “You don’t even have to try.”

And there it was, a faint blush, painted around the freckles on his cheeks, and Changbin smiled, gaining confidence. “Tell me about yourself instead. The only thing I know about you is that you’re Lee Felix, and that I have a crush on you.”

“You know my family name?”

Changbin nodded, caught. “Yeah. Minho told me a while ago.”

“See? You know more about me that I know about you.” Felix tittered.

“I’m Seo Changbin.” he chuckled. “Now we’re even.”

“Seo Changbin.” Felix repeated under his breath, testing how the syllables rolled off his tongue and smiling at how easily it did.

“Now, will you tell me more about yourself?” Changbin’s boyish smile made Felix’s heart skip a beat. He had his elbows propped on top of the table with his chin on his folded fingers. He looked eager to know about Felix and the willingness almost made Felix swoon.

Instead, he leaned back into his seat whilst he narrowed his eyes at the older, huffing. “I asked you first.”

“I like your voice.” Changbin shrugged as he took his drink in his hand for a sip. “I rather you do the talking for now.”

The blush turned half a shade darker and Changbin’s smile turned larger at the sight. Felix rolled his eyes whilst an amused smile curved his lips; he relented. “Okay, then. Let’s see...”

Felix tells Changbin that he lives five minutes away from campus, and that he only works at the copy place because he’d rather do that than be holed up in his apartment two afternoons a week. He tells Changbin that he has two sisters, one older and one younger, and that he lives with both of them. He goes on about how he likes to swim and that he likes travelling and shopping and that he probably picked those up because of his two sisters but that didn’t matter.

Changbin tells Felix that he lives with Chan and Jisung on campus. He tells Felix that he has an older sister that’s already married and that he adores his two nieces with all his heart. He lets Felix know that he also likes to travel, and from there Felix suggests that they go somewhere some time, when they’re closer. Changbin agrees, somehow smitten with the idea of an outing with Felix.

They exchanged numbers somewhere along their chat, Felix giggling as he named Changbin ‘annoying customer that has a crush on me’ on his phone. He blushed when he saw a simple ‘cute’ labeled as his contact on Changbin’s phone, smiling coyly at Changbin and proclaiming that the older wasn’t even trying to hide his crush on him anymore.

It’s after the ice in their drinks have melted and turned lukewarm do they realize that the sun was starting to set.

“I should head home.” Felix sighed, almost sadly, as he dragged his fork against the surface of his now empty plate. “My sisters are going to be home from work and school soon.”

Changbin nodded and stood, another spate of chivalry taking over him. “Do you want me to walk you home?”

Felix bit his lip as he contemplated on the offer, before he stands from his seat and gives Changbin another blinding smile. He shakes his head. “It’s okay, you don’t have to.”

Felix sees Changbin about to protest, so he takes the older’s hand and grins. “Maybe next time?”

If Changbin hadn’t told Felix that he lived on campus, Felix might have jumped at the chance of stealing an extra five minutes of being with Changbin. Felix didn’t want to make Changbin walk to and from campus just for him. Felix knows he’d feel bad about it and then invite Changbin over for dinner to make up for it; and Felix didn’t think he could be that forward yet.

Changbin blinked as he unknowingly laced their fingers together. “Next time?”

Felix nodded, a little hopefully, as they made their way outside. “Unless you’re going to take another month to ask me out?”

Changbin almost laughed, if not for the idea that popped into his mind.

“How about Saturday?” he asked Felix as they walked to the gates. “ _This_ Saturday.” he emphasized, and Felix laughed. “We can catch a movie, maybe lunch?”

Felix smiled as he nodded, this time excitedly. “It’s a date.”

Changbin nodded in reply, not letting go of his hand when the boy started to walk with a small yet very noticeable skip in his step. Changbin chuckled and watched as Felix walked, pleasantly amused at how the younger was acting,

They reach the university’s gates and Changbin wanted to offer to walk Felix home again, just so he could spend a few extra minutes with him. Instead, he let go of Felix’s hand and smiled. “Text me when you get home, okay? You have my number.”

Felix nodded, smiling as he replied. “And _you_ , have to text me the details of our date, okay? If you pick a scary movie, you’re getting stood up.”

Changbin chuckled, not willing to find out if Felix was capable of such.

Felix is a reasonable distance away when he stops and turns around. He grins when he sees Changbin is still standing there and raises his hands to cup the sides of his mouth.

“You can stop having things copied now, save paper!” he yelled with a deeply amused laugh. “If you want to see me then just say so!”

Changbin’s smile broadened and he yelled back. “I’ll keep that in mind!”

Felix takes a step backward as he waves. He turns around and Changbin waits until he’s out of sight before stepping back inside campus to go back to the apartment.

He had a date to plan and hopefully, if Felix didn’t hate him by the end of it, he’d be planning more.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading!! this has been locked up in my drafts for about a month and a half and i'm so happy to finally publish it :P tell me your thoughts on it down in the comments or on my [curious cat](https://curiouscat.qa/water_lili_es) or visit my [twitter](https://twitter.com/markeu_tuan93) for more stories!! *^^* please all stay safe, happy, and healthy!! thank you again!


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